What Now? AdBlue in the Diesel Tank in Sturmer
What to do about AdBlue in a diesel tank comes down to one thing more than any other: whether the engine has been run since it got in. If it has not, keep it that way, whether your car is in Sturmer itself or out in New England. Leave the engine and your ignition off and phone 0333 366 0103; it's generally a drain and a thorough flush, done where the vehicle is around Sturmer. If it's run, stop as soon as it is safe then switch off. Step one remains unchanged, even if the job grows.
Wherever across Essex it took place, one of the cases below fits yours.
On a Sturmer forecourt with AdBlue in a diesel
Picture it: standing by the pump, holding the nozzle, you realise the filler you took off was not the right one. Somewhere in Sturmer, then — Esso, JET, or somewhere else nearby.
What it means: this is the best place to find out. Nothing has pulled it through, and so the AdBlue stays just in your tank.
Clearing the petrol pump is no reason to start it — so don't get back in. Ask the staff to help you push the vehicle into a parking space, keep the receipt or the bottle, then ring us from the forecourt. Our equipment is explosion-proof and safe on a busy forecourt, and so a car that cannot be pushed away gets cleared right at the petrol pump.
AdBlue in the diesel tank on a Sturmer drive?
On your dash, a reminder had shown all week. A bottle from the garage, emptied in on the driveway — and it's just at the recycling that the cap got your eye. Homes just off Rowley Hill get hit as often as anywhere else.
Put simply: if your car has not been driven since, it's nearly as good as spotting it at the pump. Diesel and AdBlue stay separate: the AdBlue settles to the base of that tank and remains there, however long the night.
Next: prevent any early move by putting the keys indoors, then ring us. Friars Mead or Sturmer: wherever your driveway sits, that is where it is drained. Even at night, the pumps stay quiet enough for a driveway.
On the road in Sturmer with AdBlue in a diesel
A mile or two beyond topping up, the motor started misbehaving: roughness, smoke, lost power, warnings on the dash. Anywhere along Hill Lane or else on the road to Cambridge — under 25 miles away.
Meaning? The fuel pump has sucked the AdBlue in. Through your filter, along the pipework, and — the further the mileage — deeper into the high-pressure pump and each injector. Each restart, like each mile, carries it on.
Stop somewhere safe — that is the first step — then switch it off. Sturmer lies under 15 miles from the M11; on it, pull off at the first junction instead of pressing on for the services. Starting it again to check achieves nothing — AdBlue never clears on its own. Let us know the mileage driven when you ring.
AdBlue in the wrong tank of a hire, lease or company car
You've had this vehicle hardly a week. Unbeknown to you, the two fillers are side by side here — unlike your own vehicle, which has no AdBlue or stores it elsewhere. Throughout Essex, no one is immune.
Put simply: one extra stage on top of the situations above, which depend on whether it has run. Plenty of hire and company contracts want the owner to approve work on the car.
Next: phone the hire company or your fleet manager first, then us — sorting it before we arrive is quicker. Waiting for a reply in the car park outside Dullingham, or beside Sturmer Village Hall? Keep the engine off throughout.
Not sure it was AdBlue in the diesel tank, Sturmer?
Sometimes the fair answer is "I think so". What cap was taken off, you can't recall; but the bottle feels less than expected, and ammonia hangs by the filler. Possibly it happened in a hurry at the school gates at Coupals Primary Academy, or on a friend's drive in Wilsey.
The point: the engine isn't hurt by a little AdBlue splashed on the outside. Inside your diesel tank, however, AdBlue damages it. You can't tell which by turning the ignition, and doing so will draw in any AdBlue that is in the tank.
Next: assume it went in, then leave your motor off. Describe what you noticed on the phone. A clean tank looked at is a happier outcome than an already-run one drained.
Each AdBlue drain around Sturmer shares these stages
Each case has the same start to the job. Our technicians come to the car, whether it is at a forecourt, a drive, the car park at The Red Lion or a side street near Sturmer War Memorial, and ask three things: what was put in, roughly how much, and if the engine has been run. Over the phone, ahead of dispatch, you hear the quote, and those replies shape the work too.
A thorough flush comes after the drain. With petrol it's standard; with AdBlue it is essential, because deposits build up and certain metals are attacked, and neither washes away unaided. The fuel filter is flushed, or replaced where it needs to be; fresh diesel goes in; and your car is tested. Never started? Then roughly half an hour once we are there covers most jobs.
Last, our engineers fire it up. Our technicians check it runs smoothly on new diesel before we leave. When it's caught quickly, the vehicle very rarely has permanent damage, and the entire job takes place where it is. Nothing is paid upfront, payment happens on the day, and you get what the insurer wants: an engineer report and a VAT invoice. Check your insurance while we're en route: cover for misfuelling comes included in many policies.
About Sturmer
Sturmer is a small village in Essex, situated on the riverside at an elevation of around 60 metres, with detached housing being the predominant type of accommodation. Sturmer lies near the villages of Friars Mead, Roost End, and Calford Green, and is approximately 17.8 miles from Cambridge. Sturmer has a population of around 525 people and is located about 46.6 miles from London. Sturmer's rural setting and proximity to the river make it a distinctive part of the Eastern region's landscape.
AdBlue drains across Essex, Sturmer included
Over CB postcodes, the teams covering Sturmer — a village — reach surrounding places too, Roost End and Calford Green among them. Fastest of all: a CB9 7 postcode to show where you stand.
Parked en route to Haverhill Golf Club, or right in the centre of Sturmer, your vehicle remains put — there's no need to shift it at all. Our technicians drain the vehicle where it sits. If you're somewhere hard to describe, near Sturmer Village Sign or close to a boundary, ring and ask rather than guessing.
The one-line version
Unstarted? Keep the car off then phone. Run by now? Stop, switch off, ring. Petrol in Diesel takes over the rest whatever it is, in Sturmer and Essex, on 0333 366 0103.